Fistful of Talent

What the Talent Pro has to be thankful for in 2012

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, at least in the USA, and in keeping with the spirit and the tradition of the holiday, (the ‘giving thanks’ part, not the acknowledgement that we will only survive the impending winter due to the benevolence and generosity of

the locals), here at FOT we thought it fitting to run down the (partial) list of things that we, as HR, Recruiting, and Talent pros, that we have to be thankful for this year. Please feel free to add anything we failed to mention in the comments.

So here goes:

Things the HR Pro has to be thankful for in 2012

A highly engaged and talent-focused C-suite, that relies on the HR team to help drive strategy, make critical business decisions, and instill and inspire a culture of success

A senior leadership team that considers recruiting and building a deep talent bench and pipeline as fundamental to their jobs as hitting the quarterly revenue and production targets

A collection of hiring managers that can describe the competencies and attributes of their successful employees, can give real behavioral examples, and can hand-off a dozen warm leads when an important position suddenly becomes open on their teams.

Front-line supervisors that know business results are really what matters, and know that finding the best people, providing regular feedback and coaching, and then letting these great people do their jobs is the surest road to success.

Employees that understand that if they want to be treated like adults, they have to act like adults. And while work can often be exhilarating and fulfilling, sometimes it is just work, but it still needs to be done with care, professionalism, and sometimes according to rules that they find inconvenient, arbitrary, and a pain in the butt.

An organizational culture that rewards creativity, instills dedication, and inspires remarkable performance. Risk-taking, pushing the envelope, and daring to use HR and Recruiting as the tip of the spear in driving the organization in new directions like social media is just part of the fabric of the company.

And finally, since this is the holiday most associated with a traditional gathering of friends and family for an abundant feast, let’s all give thanks for HR”s seat at the adult table. (Everyone have a drink!)

Sounds like, Mr. or Ms. Talent Professional, you have a lot to be thankful for!

Note: If you can’t actually sit at the Thanksgiving table tomorrow and give thanks for the list above, don’t worry, we will re-run this piece at Christmastime and you can print it out to send to Santa.

Steve Boese is fondly known to many as the HR Technology blogger. By day, he is the Co-Chair of Human Resource Executive's HR Technology Conference. He is also a former Director of Talent Management Strategy at Oracle and an HR Technology instructor. Steve can also be found hosting the HR Happy Hour Show and Podcast … you know, where a bunch of HR pros get together and call in to talk about HR stuff. Sounds like an SNL skit, we know. But when you have Dave Ulrich, the grandfather of HR as show guests, well, I guess you’re doing something right. Talk to Steve via email, LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.